Bitcoin prices went on a rollercoaster ride this Wednesday, jumping early in the Asian trading day before losing steam while President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address.
By early afternoon in Singapore, the world’s largest cryptocurrency traded around $65,500, a gain of more than 2%. Earlier in the morning, it had spiked over 3.5%, marking its strongest single-day move since mid-February. Other major tokens, including Ether, Solana, and XRP, followed a similar pattern, seeing healthy gains before pulling back slightly as the day went on.
The initial price surge happened alongside a rise in the stock market as investors positioned themselves ahead of the President’s speech. However, the crypto market’s strength began to fade before Trump even left the podium. Many industry insiders hoped the President, who ran on a pro-crypto platform last year, would mention digital assets during his address. He ultimately did not bring them up.
Market experts believe the morning jump was simply traders “buying the dip.” Prices had crashed earlier in the week following a chaotic legal battle over trade policy. The Supreme Court recently blocked Trump from using emergency powers to impose tariffs, but the President countered by invoking a different authority to propose a 15% global tariff. This back-and-forth created uncertainty that drove prices down, making the asset cheaper for buyers on Wednesday morning.
Despite the brief rally, the overall mood in the market remains cautious. Data from trading platforms shows that investors are buying options that protect them if the price falls further, specifically targeting the $58,000 level by early March.
Sean McNulty, a trading lead at FalconX, says this defensive behavior reflects growing fears of a potential U.S. military strike on Iran. Betting markets currently show a significant chance of a conflict escalating within the next few weeks, keeping crypto traders on edge and limiting how high the price can climb for now.
